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Worked a game last night at a small school. V game for the small school and they played a larger schools Soph team.
I'm LJ and A runs off-tackle towards my wing. Gets initially hit at LOS but is driving forward. You've all seen this, a few more B players hit the growing moving pile, and a few more A players get involved. Now we have 7-8 players plus a runner and the "pile" is still moving forward. I no longer have a visual on the ball but do have the runners legs still pumping.
Finally the pile is stopped and begins to go backwards. I have a forward progress spot, but do not see anything of the ball.
The mass of players goes back about 5 yards and begins to fall to the ground. WH is close, U is coming in, BJ is moving up. Pile finally hits the ground and I see a B player holding the ball in his gut curled up on the ground maybe a yard or two inside the hash marks (Play was a yard or so to my side of the HM). WH blows the play dead as he moves toward the pile to get players off of each other and runs right by the B player on the ground with the ball. As soon as I see the B player with the ball on the ground I and the WH whistle simultaneously. But he is looking towards the pile and I'm looking at B w/ball.
When B stands up to show the WH the ball our WH confers with the rest of the crew which no one saw the ball come loose. WH declares the ball dead and awards ball to A after asking me where I had forward progress spotted. U sets the ball and RFP signal is given.
At halftime we all get chastized for not blowing the play dead even though no one saw the ball. WH mentions it makes us look stupid and U responds with he isn't blowing the play dead until he sees the ball.
Last thing I wanted to happen was an IW by whistling when the pile moved back since the ball could have popped out on the other side of the pile without me seeing it.
I understand whistling on behalf of player safety and the pile was taking a long time to move forward, about 5-6 seconds to go two yards, but there was still forward progress being made.
No one saw the ball pop loose, B player must have pulled it loose somewhere along the way, tucked and covered it and fell to the ground from the pile.
Is this more of a judgement call for veteran guys? Or is it a hard and fast practice to NOT blow a play dead until you ACTUALLY SEE the player IN POSSESSION of the ball go down or OOB's?
WM
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